Black Kos Music: A Night in Tunisia

As I watched the protests in Tunisia, I had music running around in my head.  Perhaps because I relate everything to music.  Thought about it for a few minutes and realized I was humming Dizzy Gillespie's classic jazz tune " A Night in Tunisia"

Written by Diz in 1942 it is now considered to be a classic and a standard.  It has been  covered by :

   Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers
    Anthony Braxton
    Clifford Brown
    Rusty Bryant
    Don Byas
    June Christy
    Miles Davis
    Stefano di Battista
    Paquito D'Rivera[2]
    Maynard Ferguson
    Ella Fitzgerald
    Stan Getz
    Dexter Gordon
    Kids These Days
    Bobby McFerrin
    Lambert, Hendricks & Ross
    The Modern Jazz Quartet
    Charlie Parker
    PE'Z
    Bud Powell
    Nelson Rangell
    Sonny Rollins
    Poncho Sanchez
    Arturo Sandoval
    Cal Tjader
    The Toasters
    Lennie Tristano
    The Turtle Island String Quartet
    Frank Vignola
    Victor Wooten
    Big Sugar

among others.

Let's listen to a few versions.  I want to start with Charlie Parker:

For vocal versions there are quite a few renditions that are on my favorites list.

Sarah Vaughn recorded Night in Tunisia as "Interlude":

 Surprisingly one at the top of the list may not be selected by jazz purists, since it is filled with funk and R&b riffs by Chaka Khan:

Tunisia meets South Africa with the trumpet of Hugh Masekela:

Puerto Rican trombonist and composer  Juan Tizol used North African melodic themes when he wrote Caravan for Duke Ellington

Duke Ellington, Caravan, Juan Tizol 1952

Nat King Cole smokes the vocal version :

Nat King Cole with Juan Tizol - Caravan (After Midnight Sessions)

Ellis Marsalis & Harry Connick Jr's dueling pianos inject some New Orleans into North Africa:

The caravans that traversed North Africa dipped southwards bringing Islam to wider areas and influenced  whole nations and ethnic groups and were in turn enriched by new instruments and powerfully melodic voices of the Jali's - oral historians and storytellers who were kora  virtuosos.  

I first heard these musics when I lived in Algeria and in later visits to West Africa.

 Kouyaté Sory Kandia  - Malisadio

Souaressi - Kouyaté Sory Kandia 1970

Kossak Mali Muso has promised she will be posting much more of this music in upcoming Black Kos music diaries.

The North African rhythms of the caravan carry me to Spain which was ruled by the Moors for close to 900 years  and we pick up on similar musical themes.
Probably the most famous of all the jazz greats in paying homage to this journey is Miles Davis'  Sketches in Spain album, arranged by Gil Evans.

Here is Concierto de Aranjuez:

I have a vocal pick for the same haunting melody by Jose Feliciano

Which leads me to  Chick Corea's "Spain", with vocals provided by Bobby McFerrin

Chick Corea New Trio & Bobby McFerrin - Spain Live 2001

and yet another version by the incomparable Stevie Wonder:

Hope you've enjoyed this musical journey.

Stay tuned for more music  to read by from members of the Black Kos community.